Kenmore Upright

 

3/8/26 Kenmore Progressive upright vacuum cleaner with "True HEPA Filtration"

Like many offspring of parents who had lived through the depression, I grew up hearing the message that if something was still functional, it should continue to be used and never wasted. To replace an appliance simply because it was annoying was unheard of.

For most of my life, I abided by that value. That’s why for many years (decades, actually), I cursed our extraordinarily heavy, loud, cumbersome Kenmore upright vacuum cleaner every time I used it. Bright “utility yellow,” which apparently had been popular for cars, appliances and other stuff back in the ‘90s, it seemed to get increasingly heavy, loud and difficult to push. But I am my mother’s daughter, and push it I did.

Somewhere around the time that I accepted that my life with Greg would no longer be the same as I had always envisioned it, my attitude started to change. When faced with some tedious task, you know how we dismiss it by saying, “Life’s too short for that”? I took that expression to heart in a literal way. When I think of all that he wanted to do, would have done, and will no longer, I remind myself: Life is too damn short for many, many things.

How much of my remaining time on earth do I want to spend pushing a vacuum cleaner that is extraordinarily heavy, loud and cumbersome (not to mention utility yellow)? Last week, I answered that question without even finishing the room. I immediately started researching a replacement, and by the end of the day, I had ordered a “stick” style vacuum cleaner that weighs less than 10 pounds. As a side benefit, its detachable handheld unit will replace my portable dust buster that also annoys me (I hadn’t yet gotten around to replacing it).

My new Shark PowerDetect Ultra-Light came the other day, and I finished vacuuming the floor. It’s so much lighter, quieter and easier to maneuver! I wish I’d replaced that old Kenmore years ago! Buh-bye, utility yellow.

Pink Trees are Here! (Plus Re-Discovery of Pentel Sign Brush Pen)

 

3/7/26 Plum tree, Maple Leaf neighborhood

Seeing a decent dry block in the morning’s forecast, I took a long walk through the ‘hood to check out the pink tree situation. I’ve been seeing ornamental plums blooming for weeks now, but with their dark foliage and tiny blossoms, plums don’t show off big fluffy pink clouds, so I tend not to sketch many. The first sketch (at left), though, does include a plum in the corner. I was actually more interested in the twin firs that had been butchered.

Next I saw a row of cherries that were just getting started (below). The blossoms were still sparse; more interesting were the weird “feet” of their exposed roots! Oftentimes I find the roots of trees more fascinating than anything else about them, especially in winter when their crowns are bare.

Paper notes: That’s a wrap for the partially used Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook that I had decided to finish as my daily-carry sketch journal (it didn’t have as many pages left as I had thought). While it’s been fun to have white paper for adding color, there’s a lot not to love about this particular white sketchbook. For one, Beta paper, which was a favorite for years, just doesn’t do it for me anymore. Now that Hahnemühle’s 100 percent cotton has taught me how much fun it is to be able to slam down multiple layers of water-soluble materials and lots of water without harming the surface, it’s hard to go back.

3/7/26 Cherry trees

Worse, though, is the 3 ½-by-5 ½-inch format. You’d think that would be close enough to a true A6 (4-by-6 inches) or Uglybooks' almost-A6 (4-by-5 ¾ inches) not to make a difference, but as you can see from these sketches, they look too narrow for their height. After getting used to Uglybooks’ comfy page, I felt horizontally cramped. It was such a relief to go back to an Uglybook!

Brush pen notes: One commitment I made to myself during my downsizing process was to “shop” from my own stash before buying anything new. Several months ago, I went through all my brush pens to review what their brushes felt like and make a clear division between the ones containing water-soluble ink and waterproof ink (at some point, they had been neatly separated, but that system apparently fell apart).

That’s when I came across the Pentel Artist Brush Sign Pen with an ultra-fine brush. Of course, I had forgotten all about it. I probably didn’t use it much when I got it because it contains water-soluble ink, which is less versatile than waterproof for the way I like to work. But look at that tip (image below)! The Pentel Pocket Brush Pen has long been a favorite for its slender tip, but the Sign Pen’s brush is even finer. As much as I love the Pocket Brush Pen, I’ve often felt that my results are better when I use it with a slightly larger sketchbook, and I often feel cramped when using an A6.

Pentel Pocket Brush Pen vs. Pentel Artist Sign Brush Pen. The difference is especially noticeably in my writing, which is often where I have the least control of the line.

The Brush Sign Pen has the slimmest brush tip of any I’ve used. After it went dry last week at the zoo, I was supposed to shop from my stash again – but that ultra-fine brush won me over: I bought another one. (A downside of the Sign Pen is that it’s not refillable, which is one of the Pocket Brush Pen’s major benefits.)

When I used it for months in my Uglybooks, I hardly noticed that the ink is water-soluble, since I rarely use water on colored pages. When I switched to the Beta, I had to be more aware of water-solubility because I was using color more often. The cherry tree sketch was a good opportunity to make the ink work with Caran d’Ache Neocolor II. After applying the color, I tried to spritz only where the color was, but fine-controlling the spritzer’s direction is difficult, and the branches got more water than I wanted. Still, the washed ink color is almost lavender when mixed with pinks – a nice shadow tone. I’ll probably stick with a waterbrush to activate colors when I use this brush pen going forward.

More pink for your viewing pleasure!

Employee Appreciation Day

3/6/26 Top Pot Doughnuts, Wedgwood neighborhood (Beware all who speak very loudly during Zoom meetings in cafes: You will be drawn unflatteringly.)

Before I retired, I had been self-employed for many years as a marketing copywriter. Although I was a pretty good boss of myself, I didn’t show enough appreciation back then for my hard-working employee, nor did I know about Employee Appreciation Day (first Friday in March). In fact, the day was off my radar until I was informed of it by Top Pot Doughnuts suggesting that doughnuts would be an appropriate way to express appreciation to one’s employees. ‘Nuff said.

Now I have another annual holiday to observe with a doughnut!

Material notes: If I were getting a doughnut for eating enjoyment only, I would probably get a chocolate-dipped Bismarck or an apple fritter. On this day, however, I wanted to test the plum and cherry blossom palette I had picked out in Caran d’Ache Neocolor II crayons, so I chose a suitably pink raspberry-glazed raised. The dark purple Derwent Inktense pencil is for blossom shadows. I’ve tried many different media – watercolor, gouache, water-soluble colored pencils, water-soluble crayons, opaque markers – for always-challenging blossoming trees, never to my complete satisfaction. This year I’m using Neocolor II crayons again, if only because I have an easy way to carry them now. 

Consolation Drink & Draw

 

3/6/26 Project 9 Brewery, Maple Leaf neighborhood

USk Seattle was hoping the weather would cooperate for an outing at the big Lunar New Year celebration in Chinatown/International District on Saturday, but rain was in the forecast. We decided to change the plan to a drink & draw on Friday afternoon instead.

With such short notice, I was afraid I’d be alone at Project 9 Brewery, but five sketchers came out to join me for brews, snacks and casual sketching. Our group size was just right for the cushy seats in the sheltered, heated patio area. Most sketchers had fun drawing each other, but no one was sitting directly across from me, so my victims were the usual random kind. (I did manage to catch the brewery’s house cat, whom I first sketched on Super Bowl Sunday. It’s probably the chillest cat I’ve ever met, wandering around to get petted by human patrons, unfazed by canine patrons, and napping and grooming on tabletops.)

At 6 p.m., we could take group and throwdown photos by natural light! Hallelujah, the Big Dark is finally over!

P.S. Today is Day 1 of the One Week 100 People drawing challenge! I hope you're joining me! I'll report in after the week is over!

Beyond Doomscrolling Prevention

 

2/23/26 Neocolor II in Hahnemuhle sketchbook

2/23/26 Derwent Drawing pencil in Stillman & Birn Zeta sketchbook (all sketches from photo references)

An interesting thing is happening with my evening sketches from photos that began as my doomscrolling prevention program. Keeping me from reaching for my phone is still an immediate benefit, but the long-term advantage is that I’m encouraged to use more materials from my vast stash – and sometimes experiment with using them together in ways that probably wouldn’t have occurred to me otherwise.

2/26/26 Derwent Drawing pencil in S&B Zeta sketchbook

You may recall a period a few years ago when I made more than a hundred portraits based on Earthsworld’s photos. I didn’t talk about it at the time, but that late-evening practice began as self-care during what was often my only respite as a caregiver. Drawing the faces of random strangers took me outside my anxious, agitated mind and gave me a focus. After a while, though, the practice went beyond self-care; I found myself learning from the enjoyable portraiture practice and using materials I rarely used on location.

2/26/26 Neocolor II in Hahnemuhle sketchbook

My 407 consecutive days of drawing my hand had a similar outcome: What began as self-care during a historic time became a project that took on a life of its own.

2/26/26 Inktense Blocks, Neocolor II in Hahnemuhle sketchbook

Like the random Earthsworld people, the subjects of these seemingly mundane neighborhood photos don’t mean much to me beyond their composition potential or high-contrast values. I’m having so much fun just grabbing materials that feel good in my hand and seeing what happens when I apply them to paper. Who knew that doomscrolling (or avoiding it) could have such benefits?

3/2/26 This experiment was a mix of more materials than I typically use together. I first used Prismacolor Art Stix (the block form of Prismacolor colored pencils) for the areas that I wanted to remain relatively sharp. Then I used Inktense Blocks and Neocolor II crayons for foliage that I activated with a water spritzer. Finally, I used a Fibralo brush marker to give the central tree stronger definition. 

Media Mishaps at the Zoo

3/2/26 Grizzly and brown bears, Woodland Park Zoo (Derwent Drawing pencil in Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook)

This is the time of year when we are occasionally surprised by delightfully sunny and even warmish days. Although it was still cold in the morning, the afternoon was just right for one of my favorite fitness-walking locations: Woodland Park Zoo.

Starting in the opposite direction from my usual zoo route, I spent some time on the Living Northwest Trail. I’m often disappointed in this section because many animals like to stay hidden, but on this afternoon, I saw and/or sketched almost all the residents.

Despite being the most frustrating, my favorites to attempt to sketch were the young bear pair, Fern and Juniper (Fern is actually a grizzly, not a brown, I learned later). I watched for quite a while as they wrestled and played continuously, their heads often buried in each other’s long fur. Waiting patiently (more patiently than most visitors, who snapped videos and then moved on quickly, just like at art museums), I drew whatever feature or shape I could capture in a second or two. When the bears flipped over and revealed their heads, I quickly refined what I’d drawn before (top of post). Challenging but so much fun!

The lazily grazing and dozing mountain goats were no challenge at all by comparison.

Mountain goats (Caran d'Ache Museum Aquarelle and Derwent Inktense pencils in Hahnemuhle sketchbook)

Huckleberry, the sole male elk, and one of his mates were resting together by a tree – also easy. However, this is when my media mishaps began. I hadn’t sketched with Tombow Dual markers in a long time and had given most away during my downsizing. Somehow I found one in my hand recently, so I put it in my bag on a whim. (I used one at the Cocoa Legato open mic recently, too.)

Elk (Tombow Dual marker in Hahnemuhle sketchbook)

Sketching these elk reconfirmed what I don’t really care for about Tombows. Although I do enjoy being able to do quick and easy shading by washing the water-soluble ink (a favorite technique for many years), I don’t like the stiff lines that the hard tips on these markers make, especially when drawing animals and other organic subjects. I much prefer a fluid, “hairy” brush. Trying to recap the pen as I was thinking about this, the cap slipped out of my hand and disappeared between the boards in the trail walkway (and we all know that the most valuable part of a marker is its cap; without it, the pen is useless).

I ended my visit with a favorite exhibit, the Humboldt penguins of South America. Luckily for me, it was feeding time. The keeper carefully and fairly distributed fish to each penguin (calling some by name). Unlike most birds around food, the penguins crowded around the keeper but were very orderly, waiting their turn (imagine gulls or crows waiting their turn!).

Humboldt penguins (Pentel Sign brush pen, Pitt Artist Pen, Inktense pencil in Hahnemuhle sketchbook)

I knew my black Pentel brush pen was running dry, but I hoped that I could squeak through the sketch – barely. To make up for it, I pulled out a gray Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen, and by poor coincidence, it was nearly dry, too!

All I can say is: Thank goodness for colored pencils!

Air Raid Siren Redux

 

3/1/26 air raid siren tower, Phinney Ridge neighborhood

Last Sunday afternoon turned out clear and beautiful. Before going to open mic at Cocoa Legato, I stopped at the nearby Phinney Neighborhood Association to sketch an historic relic. From the mid ‘50s through the mid-‘70s, this air raid siren howled a warning every Wednesday at noon. Citywide weekly drills were used to test the system in case of an actual nuclear missile attack. The one I sketched in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood is the last remaining tower.

The first time I sketched it was in 2014. Looking back at that sketch, I was surprised to see that the siren was painted orange back then; now it’s yellow, and the tower legs are green. It’s good to know that it’s still being maintained.